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Carey Telander and Cam Fortin got married last year, just as Telander quit her job and poured her savings into a startup. So the couple postponed their honeymoon until next summer’s America’s Cup regatta, hoping to rent out their San Francisco apartment to finance a trip to New Zealand and Fiji.

“We live two blocks away from the Marina,” the public viewing area for the races, said Telander, who plans to list the unit on Airbnb for about $150 to $175 per night at regular times and a bit more during the yacht races.

“The idea that our honeymoon could be paid for with no effort from us other than cleaning our apartment is amazing.”

They’re among scores of Bay Area homeowners, many with high-end luxury properties, offering up home-away-from-home options for America’s Cup visitors.

The elite regatta, which kicks off with preliminary events in August and October and culminates next year with races from July through September, is expected to draw well-heeled visitors from around the world.

“This will be an event that a lot of affluent folks will want to view, and they’ll be willing to pay a premium for an exclusive property,” said Eric Baird, a rental agent who started a service called ReListo (relisto.com) to cater to Cup visitors. “We anticipate a lot of folks coming here, demanding and expecting luxury.”

For the first America’s Cup that will be visible from land, owners of properties with bay views hope to command top dollar.

Online rental services

Plenty of humbler homes will be on offer, too. Airbnb, an online marketplace for renting out anything from couch space to an entire house, expects a brisk business.

“For everyday visitors to this event who don’t fly around the world watching yachting races all the time, Airbnb offers a wide range of affordable accommodations,” said Molly Turner, director of public affairs and policy. “Visitors will be able to stay in neighborhoods more off the beaten path and will end up spending money in those areas that don’t usually receive tourists.”

The service has 1,600 active hosts in San Francisco and expects that another 5,400 hosts who have previously tried out Airbnb will become active again.

“We formulated the business for the America’s Cup, but it has blossomed so quickly, that we know it will be year-round,” Martin said. “If people coming from abroad for a long period of time can stay in a home with all the accoutrements, what could be better?”

Tom and Paula Sinkovitz are thinking about renting out their four-bedroom Marina district condo through RezLux during the Cup.

“We’re considering the idea of getting out of town and doing Europe for a few weeks with our 12-year-old twins,” said Tom Sinkovitz. “It’s a good excuse to clean up the house and get rid of a lot of buildup from over the years.

But he’s leery of exaggerating the potential payoff.

As a newscaster for KRON-TV, he said, “I covered the 1996 Olympics, and while a lot of residents were excited, very few ever saw any money out of” renting out their homes. Those Olympics sprawled throughout Atlanta and its suburbs, and the region had plenty of hotel rooms to meet demand, he said.

Hotels often maxed out

But in San Francisco, hotels often max out in the summer, said Tom Callahan, president of San Francisco’s PKF Consulting, which tracks hotel data.

“Whether (the Cup) generates a tsunami or a little wave of visitors, most properties will be pretty full during the America’s Cup periods,” he said. “For folks who want to stay a week or two or longer, renting homes makes a ton of sense.”

Companies already experienced with offering private homes said that events like the Super Bowl, U.S. Open and the Olympics definitely spur demand.

“We’ve had a pretty good history of people using vacation rentals at events like the America’s Cup, which are multiday,” said Jon Gray, vice president of business at HomeAway, which lists people’s second homes for rent through VRBO.com (vacation rental by owners) and HomeAway.com. “The difference between staying in a hotel and a place with a kitchen, extra bedrooms and common space magnifies with the length of the stay.”

‘Staggering’ demand

For this summer’s Olympics, the sites have seen a “staggering 695 percent increase year over year in traveler demand for properties in London,” he said.

Alyssa Park, who runs a clinical laboratory company in Hawaii, was already planning to spend a little over $200,000 for a “fractional residence” – four weeks a year at the Fairmount Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square, a “private residence club” with sweeping waterfront views.

But the offer of a special America’s Cup package, which guarantees her the prime two weeks for the race finals, really sweetened the deal, she said. “I figured having a stomping ground for those two weeks at the most ideal location to see the race would be part of the charm,” she said. “Friends can fly in, enjoy themselves, stay a couple of days, watch the race during the day and spend time with me.”

Peter and Gwendolyn Jacobsen of Yountville already owned a share at the Fairmount but bought a second fractional purchase, paying $158,000 for 35 days, “because we wanted a front-row seat to the America’s Cup,” he said. “Right now, I can see the bay and Alcatraz literally just by looking out the window,” he said. “I expect I’ll use binoculars to see some details, but in reality, there’s no need for them to see the boats.”

Nick and MaryAnne Tortorelli will offer their updated Noe Valley Victorian through ReListo for $30,000 a month.

“The gym and steam room and hot tub might be nice for someone who is sailing and wants to warm up and have a nice barbecue,” said Nick Tortorelli.

He’s not worried about potential damage. “I figure anyone willing to spend 30 grand a month on a house, I could pretty well trust them not to be anarchists,” he said.

Proceeds for charity

Philanthropist and businessman Lorry Lokey and his wife only use their two-bedroom Russian Hill condo occasionally, since they have other residences in Atherton, Maui, Pebble Beach and Palm Springs, said John Harrington, Lokey’s stepson.

They decided to offer the condo during the Cup for $30,000 or $40,000 a month, with all the money going to Lokey’s private foundation, he said.

Lokey, the founder of BusinessWire, is among the billionaires who have taken Warren Buffett’s pledge to donate either $1 billion or half their net worth to charity.

Located one floor below the penthouse owned by George and Charlotte Shultz, “it has panoramic bridge-to-bridge bay views and a wraparound terrace,” Harrington said. “We feel this would be a good way for us to give some money back to charity.”